Oblivion (roller coaster)
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| Oblivion | |
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| Location | Alton Towers |
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| Park section | X-Sector |
| Type | Steel |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | March 14, 1998 |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Designer | John Wardley |
| Model | Diving Machine |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 65 ft (20 m) |
| Drop | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Length | 1,222 ft (372 m) |
| Max speed | 68 mph (109 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 1:15 |
| Max vertical angle | 88.8° |
| Capacity | 1,900 riders per hour |
| Cost | £12,000,000[1] |
| Acceleration | no launch |
| Max G force | 4.5 |
| Height restriction | 4 ft 6 in (140 cm) |
| Oblivion at RCDB Pictures of Oblivion at RCDB |
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Oblivion is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in England. The ride opened as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster in 1998 amidst a large publicity campaign.[2]
The ride has a height restriction of 1.4 m.
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[edit] History
During 1997, Fantasy World (the area of Alton Towers that Oblivion was eventually situated in) was closed off and all the old fantasy-themed rides were removed except the Black Hole. Surrounding the area were signs announcing the arrival of a world's first, codenamed "SW4". Over the year Alton Towers' secrecy and the ever-deepening hole being excavated only fueled speculation and hype. The details about Oblivion were finally unveiled in March 1998.
The "SW4" codename stood for "Secret Weapon 4". SW3 was Nemesis, and SW 1 & 2 were unbuilt roller coasters originally intended for the Nemesis site.
Oblivion opening was accompanied by a massive publicity drive, including appearances on Blue Peter, news channels and cereal boxes.
When Oblivion did open, it brought a totally new theme to the area. It was themed to look like a sinister government facility unlike the previous fair ground theme that Fantasy World had. This meant that a re-theme was needed and thus the area was re-named the X-Sector. The only surviving ride from Fantasy World, the Black Hole roller coaster, was also changed: the large tent that it was situated in was re-painted to blue and silver instead of green and yellow stripes. To make the new X-Sector a major ride area, Alton Towers added two old rides from other parts of the park: Energizer and Enterprise (both from Festival Park, now Ug Land). Both rides were repainted to fit to the new theme like the Black Hole tent (however Energizer was removed from the area in 2001 to make way for a new flat, Submission, Energizer was relocated back to Ug Land and renamed Boneshaker until its removal from park in 2004).
In 2005 the Black Hole ride was closed, and by 2008 the inside ride structure had been completely removed, with only the outside structure remaining. As of 2009 it has not since been replaced.
[edit] Statistics
- Construction started: Early 1997
- Designed by: John Wardley and Ingenieur Büro Stengel GmbH
- Manufacture: Bolliger and Mabillard
- Ride type: Diving Machine
- Constructed by: JJ Cavanagh Construction
- Ride opened: 14 March 1998
- Total cost: Approx £12 million
- Length: Approx. 377 metres
- Highest drop: Approx. 60 metres (180ft)
- Height Above Ground: Approx 20 metres (60ft)
- Top speed: Approx. 110kph
- Maximum gs: 4.5gs
- Number of trains: 7 (only 6 in use at any one time)
- Passengers per train: 16
- Max throughput per hour: 1900
- Ride duration: Approx. 75 seconds
[edit] Ride experience
While riders queue they are shown numerous videos showing The Lord of Darkness (played by Renny Krupinski). He apparently lives in the underground tunnel and tells you that the ride is perfectly safe. One of the videos shows his alter ego, the Lord of Light, who is shown warning riders that they might die. Another video, shown at the cafe is a mock news flash detailing how a ride car has gone missing, this fuels the rumours that cars have fallen into the pit and have never been recovered. The Lord of Darkness leaves the last video with mocking, booming laughter, just as riders board the ride. Before the ride shuttle leaves the station he says: "For some things there is no explanation, there is no way out, there is no happy ending to this story. Welcome to the unknown, welcome to eternal darkness, welcome to oblivion" (followed by laughter). These are all designed to build up fear and tension before the drop.
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The roller coaster has a simple layout with a 180 ft drop at 88.8° degrees into a dark tunnel followed by a 180° banked turn back to the station. The open design cars accommodate sixteen passengers in two rows of eight. The back row is slightly raised to give passengers a clear view of the drop. As each car reaches the drop it is held by a drop chain (reverse of a lift chain) for a few seconds before the clutch is released allowing the riders to drop into a pitch black tunnel, whilst a pre-recorded and disembodied voice says 'don't look down' just before release. This can only be heard by the riders at the top of the drop track. In 2004, the 'Don't Look Down' sound effect was removed after Alton Towers lost a court case against local residents who complained about noise levels at the park. The judge singled out Oblivion for criticism, stating that the 'Don't Look Down' message induces screaming and therefore increases noise levels.[3] Instead, it has the "Don't look down" message painted on the pavement in front of the main drop-It is fully visible when the train is hanging over the edge.
Although regarded as the world's first vertical drop roller coaster, at its steepest Oblivion's drop has an angle of 88.8°. This is to keep the wheels in contact with the track for the duration of the drop. Bolliger and Mabillard's two more modern dive machines, SheiKra and Griffon at the Busch Gardens parks in the U.S., both have true 90° drops accomplished by the inclusion of spring-loaded wheel assemblies.
[edit] References
- ^ Alton Towers Coaster Comparision Stats at TowerTimes
- ^ Thrill Rides - Roller Coaster - Theme Park - Alton Towers
- ^ BBC NEWS - Fun park 'makes too much noise'
[edit] External links
- BritishCoasters homepage
- Oblivion at the official Alton Towers website
- Oblivion at RCDB
- Oblivion on Alton Towers Net
- Oblivion data on Theme Park Junkies
- Oblivion on ThemeParks-UK
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